The Boston Celtics need to stay focused as tensions build against the Wizards
The tension in the Boston Celtics Washington Wizards series was already on another level compared to any series in the playoffs. Then game three happened, and this is developing into one of the most hated series we have seen in a long time, especially in the Eastern conference.
The kind of intense emotion that should carry over from game three can often be an inspiration. These kinds of incidents can cause teams to rally behind one another, and kick things into another gear. It would be foolish to think this kind of emotional reaction would definitely not impact the players, but that should not an an issue for the Celtics.
In all the areas that kind of scrum can improve, the Celtics do not need any boost. The Celtics may feel as though the world is against them as the media clamors about how dirty they are. The problem is that this Celtics team already felt as if it was them against the world.
Motivation can come in a lot of different forms, but this Celtics core has never struggled to find that kind of motivation, even when it is not as immediately present as it is in the Wizards series.
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If this kind of incident can cause teams to play harder and rally behind one another, that is another area the Celtics will really not be impacted. This Celtics core has been together for a while, and given everything that has happened to these players, and the things that have bound them as a team, dealing with some fiery tempers and criticism is not going to change anything.
For the Celtics, they already have all the qualities and additional motivation that this kind of emotion and intensity creates. For the Celtics, they need to focus on not being overwhelmed by it. The Celtics often toe the line of losing control, and they have never been short of emotion or intensity.
If the Celtics take this personally, and let these antics get into their head, then that extra emotion could cause them to lose control, and lose sight of controlling the game in a way that will allow them to be most successful.
Fortunately, the Celtics have done nothing to indicate that this will cause them to lose focus. The Celtics have not been attacking the Wizards in any way, and both on the court and off the court have kept their cool throughout this all.
Even Terry Rozier, who got into things with Brandon Jennings, realizes how frivolous getting into with him is. The Celtics have remained focus on their play on the court despite being under the most distracting circumstances, and that has nothing to do with this drama of the Wizards series.
There is no doubting that the intensity of this series will not go down, and the Celtics are fine with that too. The point is that for a team that always plays with all the emotion and intensity that can exist inside a human body, getting caught up in more emotion could cause a negative reaction.
The Celtics do not want to force things, and they certainly do not want to instigate anything that may leave them shorthanded. The Celtics have never backed down and never will back down, and that was true both before and after the the debacle of game three.
The Celtics need to make sure they are functioning at the highest level. Emotion and intensity has always been a part of getting the Celtics to their best, but the playoffs alone make sure they are at their peak in that respect.
The level headed Brad Stevens should be the neutralizing factor. Stevens realizes the importance of the emotion of this team, and controlling their aggression has been an accomplishment of his as a coach.
This Celtics team has never needed other rallying point to bring them together, so nothing that has happened in this Wizards series should change anything in their approach. The Celtics know what they need to do in order to beat this team, and playing into any games that come from the suspension will just be hurting themselves.
So far, this series has been everything the fans could have wanted and them some. This is the kind of bad blood that has been missing over the last few years, particularly as LeBron James has decimated the confidence of the conference.
The good news is that the Celtics are comfortable playing in this kind of environment, and they should be able to get an advantage out if it, on top of what losing Kelly Oubre will do to the depth of the Wizards.
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This is the kind of series that everyone wanted coming into the playoffs, and it could have easily been anticipated by the players. Right now, the most important thing is making sure this minor distraction does not give the Wizards any additional advantage.